Problem Solver 68 Trinity District Hideout

"I have a visual on the target."

"Roger that. Report back if anything changes."

"Will do." Kayoko put down her radio and looked down at the hastily drawn up map of the district.

After their withdrawal from the Trinity Campus, Problem Solver 68 had elected to lay low, focusing on long range surveillance from outside the campus. The last two days had been quiet, but this evening they had gotten a ping. Sensei was leaving the campus. Which meant that Problem Solver 68 was back in action.

"Kayoko, this is so boring." Mitsuki's voice droned over the radio. "Can't we blow something up?"

"I'd happily destroy something if it's what Aru commands."

"Not the time right now." Kayoko shot back. "We're on duty right now! Keep watch on Sensei and report his movements back to me."

"Aru, why does Killjoy-Ko get to call the shots?"

"You're the president after all, Aru."

Kayoko was about to respond to the comment when their leader's calm voice came over the radio. "Mitsuki, Haruka, I know that this is not our normal job, but Kayoko is the one who got us this commission. The pay is solid and if we can wrap this one up, we'll be able to afford our own office and enjoy barbeque together. So let's keep the professional hats on right now and save our explosives for another day, alright?"

"President…"

"Aru…I'll do my best then."

The white haired girl managed a soft chuckle, "I guess even the ruthless and infamous outlaw Aru can speak such wise words."

"Of course I am. After all, we're Problem Solver 68! We're the best fixers in Gehenna, no, all Kivotos!"

""Oh!""

"Oh!" Kayoko cheered along as well.

The team returned to their usual small talk until Haruka's voice interrupted. "Sensei has changed direction. He is headed into a small coffee shop."

"Roger that." Kayoko immediately grabbed her notepad and began jotting down. "Anyone else there besides the Make Up Work Club?"

"Negative so far. I can't see into the cafe though. It looks like it's a below ground one."

"Noted. Park across the street and continue surveillance."

"Will do!"

On the map, Kayoko moved the small H piece down the street to where the S piece was located. "Aru, let me know when you have repositioned."

"Roger that."

"Mitsuki, let me know if you see any suspicious activity near the campus."

"Will do!"

The next twenty minutes were filled with updated position reports before Kayoko heard an explosion.

"What was that?"

"Mitsuki?"

"It wasn't me, I swear. I haven't seen anything come in or out of the campus."

Kayoko groaned, "Aru, do you have a visual?"

"Looks like smoke is coming out from the southwest."

Tracing the line from Aru's position on her map, the white haired member frowned. "That's…the Trinity Aquarium. What's going on there?"

"Unclear…wait…I'm getting a visual." Aru's voice came with a level of coolness that was rarely seen. Kayoko was impressed. Her dorky senior officer was in the zone and was completely focused.

"Wait…that's…That's Kurodate Haruna!"

"As in the Gourmet Research Society?"

"You mean those loonies who hold up the cafeteria sometimes?"

"And blow up restaurants they don't like," Kayoko added. 'Dammit, what are they doing here?"

"Umm…Kayoko, Sensei just left the cafe and he's got someone with him."

"Who is it, Haruka?"

"One sec…target identified as Hasumi of the JTF."

Kayoko swore aloud. "Dammit, our disguises won't work in front of her."

"I was under the impression they weren't going to work to start with." Mitsuki added, "I mean, we don't have black hair in perfect Hime cuts. It was never going to work."

"Shut it Mitsuki!" The stressed operator shot back. "Right, so Sensei is probably going to get involved with stopping the Gourmet group. Mitsuki, Haruka, pull back and reposition to Canbern avenue! Aru, go about four rooftops to the south and find a sniping position."

"What's the plan Kayoko?"

The white haired student grabbed her pistol and double checked that it was fully loaded. "We're going to keep Sensei from catching the Gourmet Research Society."

Sensei cursed aloud as he ran outside of the cafe. "What's going on out there?"

Next to him, Azusa looked up at the smoke rising from the south. "Looks like an explosion two kilometers to the south."

"Right," The teacher nodded, "Hifumi, Koharu, what's in that vicinity?"

Koharu frowned as Hifumi thought for a second before lighting up. "The Trinity Aquarium! So that means that someone has broken into the aquarium?"

"Probably, " Sensei concluded. "Azusa, Koharu, do you have night vision scopes?"

Koharu shook her head. "I use iron sights."

"I'm not a sniper by default." Azusa explained.

"Noted. Then we'll have to-"

"-Sensei, what are you doing?"

The group turned back to see a frowning Hasumi standing before them, her hand lowering her phone. "I just spoke with headquarters. The Gourmet Research Society has broken into the Trinity Aquarium and is attempting to escape."

"Never heard of them." The teacher admitted, "Are they a club or something?"

The vice commander shook her head, "They're Gehenna students. What I would like to know is what you're doing?"

"I am mobilizing the available students to intercept the perpetrators." Sensei explained, "You in?"

"This is a JTF matter, Sensei." Hasumi protested, "You should leave this to the JTF."

The teacher glanced around. "I don't see the JTF here, unless you're counting Koharu."

Koharu's eyes lit up hopefully. Hasumi smiled softly but shook her head. "I'm calling in JTF backup as we speak. Please allow us to handle this."

"All due respect Hasumi, you've got the Schale Sensei, one of your JTF elites, a former member of the Sisterhood, an ex terrorist who held up an entire warehouse from your own forces, and most importantly, we have Hifumi." The teacher grinned, "Please, I think the forces here will be more than enough to catch the Gehenna students."

Hasumi looked between the eager looks of Koharu and Azusa to Hifumi's panicked expression. "I'm still calling in backup, but if you wish to assist, then I will not stop you."

Koharu grinned, "Don't worry Hasumi, as one of your elites, I will not fail you!"

"I never said that." The JTF vice commander rolled her eyes.

"Alright then," The Sensei raised his tablet, "Make Up Work Club, move out!"

The plan was simple. Set an ambush down the ideal escape route, knock out their escape vehicle, and arrest the perpetrators. Sensei knew that things never quite go to plan, but he wasn't expecting them to be foiled from the start.

The blue haired commando cursed himself as he pressed his back against the corner of the alleyway. He glanced out slightly only to barely miss the bullet aimed at his head. "Azusa, Hifumi, any luck?"

The next block over, Azusa frowned at the large collection of wires, explosives, and laser sensors blocking the alleyway. "That's a negative here. The entire route is rigged with traps."

Hifumi winced as she nervously clung to her rifle. "Azusa, what do we do?"

The silver haired girl looked left and right. "The other routes are likely rigged as well. We need another route."

"Maybe we should call for help?"

"No time. The target will be here any moment. We need another avenue of assault." That's when she looked up and raised her brow. "Hifumi, do you have a grappling hook? Or even just a long rope?"

Hifumi frowned, unslinging her bag. "I don't think so…" She dug through her bag, pulling out collectibles, merch, a couple of notebooks…and a rather familiar harness and grappling hook. "On second thought…"

"Perfect, you are a genius Hifumi." Azusa complimented her classmate, not even questioning why the tawny haired girl had a harness and grappling hook. "This rope and hook is exactly what we need. Where did you get it?"

Hifumi frowned. Why did she have a harness and grappling hook in her bag? Then she remembered as her face flushed. "Ahh…I…just happen to carry one around. Don't think about it."

"Noted. I will not think about it." Her classmate strapped the harness around her waist, then attached the hook to her rifle's tactical rail. Raising the rifle upwards, she launched the cable.

The hook struck the top of the building's fire escape, hooking itself to the grating. Attaching the rope to her harness, Azusa began climbing her way up the wall until she was below the fire escape.

Reaching upwards, the girl hefted herself over the railing and onto the second story fire escape. Watching upwards from the ground, Hifumi gave the silver haired girl a round of applause. "Wow, that was so cool, Azusa!"

Azusa couldn't explain why, but she returned the applause with a confident smirk and thumbs up. It felt right. Perhaps this is how the Instructor felt when she demonstrated insane feats for the Arius students. She liked how it felt.

Perhaps Hifumi would like it if she showed off a bit more. Azusa reached into her side holster and pulled out a small revolver. She took aim at the pair of bolts holding the ladder in place and pulled the trigger twice. The bullets struck the bolts off, causing the ladder to slide down to ground level. She gave the tawny haired girl a smile. "After you."

Looking up nervously, Hifumi winced. "Umm…do I have to go up there?"

Azusa frowned. Did she not like it? Was she not impressed by her performance? "Umm…yes?"

"O-okay." The girl walked over to the ladder and carefully put both hands on the railing.

A few wobbly moments later, the tawny haired girl was beside the silver haired girl. Said girl glanced up. "We don't have much time. We need to get to the roof."

"Ehh?" Hifumi looked up the eight stories above her. "I…"

"There's no time." WIth that, the silver haired commando took her hand and began to lead her up the steep stairs and ladders.

From below, Sensei glanced at the lone alleyway keeping them from their objective. "We gotta find another way around."

"Sensei, let me handle it!"

The teacher turned to find Koharu holding up her rifle scope. "Let me take out the sniper!"

"Koharu, you're going to get sniped if you do that. And you don't even know where the sniper is."

"I know how to find her." Koharu insisted. "Suzumi taught me how to find snipers. If you can give me ten seconds, I'll find her and take her out."

The teacher frowned. Suzumi knew how to find snipers? While it wasn't an exclusive skill to any particular academy, the Vigilante Crew leader didn't seem like the person to have that knowledge set. But, it wasn't like he had any other option. And the fierce determination in his student's eyes told him she wanted to do this. "Alright then. Hanako, you and I will draw the sniper's fire backwards while Koharu locates the sniper. Move quickly and make lots of unpredictable movements."

Hanako nodded, raising her own SMG. "Roger that Sensei."

"On three…two…one…Go! Go! Go!"

The two dashed out of cover, Sensei just narrowly dodging another sniper bullet. As the two ran through the alley, the sniper shot another bullet, this time grazing flying right by where Hanako should have been had she not dropped to the floor a split second before.

Behind them, Koharu rolled out of cover and raised her spotter scope. She had seen the trajectory of the last two bullets and immediately focused on the area above her. A moment later, she narrowed in on the rooftop across the street. And that's when she saw her, a lone woman kneeling on the red rooftop wearing a black uniform. Koharu didn't even hesitate, raising her rifle and sending a snapshot at the sniper.

The first shot missed, striking the tiles next to the sniper's position. The sniper immediately noticed her and twisted her own rifle to bore in on her. But Koharu was faster, pulling back her bolt and releasing a second bullet. The second shot struck the enemy rifle head on, tearing through the thin metal frame. It wasn't the headshot Koharu was hoping for, but the enemy sniper reeled back from the destruction of her rifle.

Koharu pulled back her bolt and let loose a third shot, but the sniper was faster, rolling to the side and scrambling over to the opposite side of the roof. She struck the wall with her fist. "Dammit. She got away."

"That's good enough." A masculine voice called beside her.

Koharu looked up to see the teacher patting her on the back. "Good job, you did well." He did give her a nudge, "I would have appreciated it if you had pulled that off without me getting shot at."

"Hey, it was my first time." The sniper protested, "I'll have you know that I'll be even better next time!"

"Oh my, looks like someone is improving." Hanako embraced the smaller girl in her bosom, causing her to spasm out.

"Hey, that's too much! Death penalty!"

The teacher watched the two banter before turning back to the street before him. "Azusa, we're in position, what's your status?"

"Hifumi and I are ready to intercept."

"Do you have eyes on the target?"

"We do. It's a yellow and white van moving at 40 clicks an hour. Expected arrival in thirty seconds."

"Roger that." The teacher nodded, picking up his rifle. "As planned, Koharu will take out the vehicle, then Hanako and I will move in from the flank. Hifumi and Azusa will provide cover fire. All units confirm?"

""Roger that!""

He peeked onto the street and frowned. "Azusa, is there one van or two?"

"There should only be one van, Sensei."

"Then why are there two vans?" The teacher raised his rifle and gestured to Koharu. "Take out the left van. I'll get the right one."

As the two vehicles approached the ambush site, Sensei zeroed in his scopes. "On three…two–"

He never got to finish as the second van opened the passenger side window to reveal a black clad arm holding a pistol. The arm raised the pistol into the air and fired.

A dark wave shot through the entire zone, causing the teacher to wince. "They've got fear rounds?"

While it wasn't the first time he had encountered the psychological weapon and had the training to fight through it, the rest of the club did not. Koharu cried out as she collapsed on the ground, writhing. Beside her, Hanako dropped onto her knees, her hands immediately trying to cover her ears.

"Dammit!" The teacher muttered as he opened fire, but his shots went wide, missing the first van completely. The van passed him as did the second one. "Azusa…Hifumi, you okay?"

"One sec." Came the cool and calm voice.

Sensei heard a burst of gunfire erupt from the rooftop, striking the second van in the rear tires. The van screeched to a halt before flipping onto one side. "Was that you, Azusa?"

"Affirmative. While I haven't directly dealt with fear rounds, I am trained to resist most forms of psychological torture."

"You can handle fear bullets, but you're scared of Peroro?" The teacher muttered under his breath. He noticed a group of four girls wobbly get out of the van. "Right then, Azusa, I'm going after them. Provide covering fire."

"Roger that, Sensei."

The teacher ran towards the tipped over van and raised his rifle. "Trinity forces, stand down!"

The red haired girl heard his demand and leaped to cover. "Shoot, it's the JTF!"

The remaining trio of students whipped out their weapons, a sniper rifle, an assault rifle, and a machine gun and opened fire.

The teacher dove to the side before returning fire, sending precision fire at the machine gunner. The Gehenna leader glanced from one side to the other, "We got the advantage! Izumi, give us covering fire! Junko and Akari, find us a way out of here!"

"Will do!"

Sensei cursed internally. With only Azusa still in the fight, he was outgunned and outnumbered. "Arona, call Hasumi. Tell her we've got them pinned down here."

"Will do, Sensei. But actually, you've got a call for you."

"From Hasumi, put it through."

"It's not from Hasumi though…"

"Hey Sensei, fancy finding you here."

The teacher's eyes lit up. "Suzumi, what are you-"

"Not the time, Sensei. What I need you to do is toss a flash grenade in their direction on the count of three."

Sensei didn't even hesitate. Reaching into his pouch, the teacher pulled out a small device. "Alright, I'm ready."

"One…two…three…Go! Go! Go!"

Pulling the pin from the grenade, the teacher lobbed it over his cover. "Foxtrot!"

"What the-"

"Flashbang!"

"WAHH!"

Behind him, a bright flash enveloped the Gourmet Research Society, causing them to back away. Above him, the teacher could hear the faint sound of gunfire and boots hitting the ground.

When the light cleared, he saw two girls in gray uniforms standing over the fallen Gourmet Research Society, one of them being the white haired Vigilante crew leader. She gestured to a sniper and LMG user atop a balcony. "Target neutralized."

The teacher stood up and walked over to the gathered crew members. "Nice job. Thanks for the save."

Suzumi looked up from the fallen Gehenna students and smiled. "No, thank you for that flashbang. My throwing arm couldn't quite reach that far and you were in a far better position to stun them." She looked over at the fallen Make Up Work Club members. "Are they alright? Let us take care of them."

"They'll be alright." Sensei nodded, "They had a nasty encounter with a fear round."

The Viginate Crew chief winced. "Yikes, those things are nasty. My girls have training to resist psychological weapons, but that doesn't make them any less brutal."

"Wasn't aware that was part of the Trinity Training." The ex commando frowned, "It's not even taught that much in the Abydos district. Gehenna's the only district that promotes training against fear rounds. I only know how to resist it due to decades of encountering it."

"It's not part of Trinity Training," Suzumi agreed, "But I made a point to train my girls against it." She gestured towards the last member of the group, a rather wobbly Uzawa Reisa. "Our newest member is still getting used to it though."

"I'm…okay!" Reisa gave a shaky thumbs up. "Cath Pulug is not going to get me. Cath Pulug is not going to get me. Cath Pulug is not going to get me."

The teacher raised his brow. "Is she?"

"She's gotten a lot better than before." Suzumi gave her subordinate a head rub. "The first time I exposed her to fear rounds, she couldn't even look Kiyoyama Kazusa in the face without freaking out. Now she knows how to use calming exercises to handle the brunt of it. I'm rather proud of her."

"I see." Sensei nodded slowly before turning back to the fallen Gourmet Research members. "So what happens with them?"

"I'll call Hasumi and let her know we got them." The white haired leader reached for her phone.

"Already beat you to it." The teacher raised his tablet. "Hasumi, we got them."

The voice on the other side sounded startled. "Wow, that was rather fast. I don't even have half of the forces I requested gathered yet. Stay put and I'll gather a prisoner transport vehicle. I'll also give the Gehenna Prefect team a call and request a transfer."

The teacher smiled as he put down the tablet. "And that's that."

Suzumi put her hand to her chin. "That's quite an impressive tablet you have."

"It's quite the perk of being the Schale Sensei. Now then, let's get to the other matter at hand. If this is the Gourmet Research Society, then who was the other group fighting us?"

"You mean that other van?" The Vigilante Crew leader smiled, "Don't worry about them. I've already got the rest of the Crew tracking them down. We'll catch them and turn them over to the JTF for you."

The teacher smiled. "Thanks, I would appreciate that."

He looked back to the rather worn out looking Hanako and Koharu slowly getting on their feet, assisted by Vigilante Crew members. "Now then, to deal with turning these members over to the Prefect Team. I must admit, I haven't met the current Prefect Team before."

PS68 Trinity District Hideout

"Sorry Kayoko. We failed."

"That sniper is crazy! I mean who finds a sniper that easily?"

"Umm…Aru, you were standing on the roof like a poser with no cover. That's your own fault."

"Well, you didn't bother to set traps on the fire escape. Isn't that how their sniper got up there in the first place?"

"I was supposed to deter them from going there, not actually blow them up. Otherwise I would have totally bombed them the moment they got there!"

"So who's the failure now?"

"You are, because-"

"Guys!" Kayoko sighed as she closed the door of the van. "It's fine. Interfering with Sensei's operation was my idea and there was always the chance we might fail."

Haruka gave the white haired girl a sympathetic look. "What is the client going to say?"

"I don't know." Kayoko admitted, "What is important is that we regroup and report back to our client."

She opened the door to the hideout as she raised the radio to her mouth. "Aru, Mitsuki, pack it up and regroup at the base. We're going to await further orders."

"..."

"..."

Kayoko frowned. "I said, pack it up. We're regrouping."

"..."

"..."

"Aru? Mitsuki?" Kayoko frowned. "Haruka, can you go and find where they-"

She turned around to find no one behind her. "-them?"

The former Abydos intelligence officer narrowed her brow as she upholstered her pistol and drew it. Raising it, she slowly turned in a circle, moving away from any windows. Once she was satisfied with her circle, she crept back towards the door, reaching for her phone. With practiced efficiency, her fingers reached towards the speed dial function without even looking.

"Hello, you have reached the voicemail of Amau Ako. I am currently unavailable but will do my utmost to get back to you as soon as I can. Please leave a message and your number-"

Kayoko jerked back as a bullet flew past where her head previously was. Instinct took over as she spun around to shoot her assailant head on. Three shots caught the assassin in the face, causing her to drop to the ground.

Without hesitation, the Problem Solver dropped and turned the opposite direction to catch the second assassin trying to sneak up behind her. The assassin managed to open fire with her SMG, striking the paneling around the white haired agent. The assassin dropped to the ground, as Kayoko panted heavily.

"Foxtrot!"

She looked up just in time to receive a flashbang to the face. Kayoko stumbled back as she tried to get her vision under control, shooting wildly in the vaguest direction of the assassin. When her vision cleared, she saw a white haired blob holding a black blob in front of her.

"Sorry Ako…"

Two shots later, the Problem Solver hit the ground, dropping her phone to the ground, still ringing before a bullet shattered the screen.

Trinity/Gehenna District Boundary

After seeing the Make Up Work Club return to Trinity with JTF assistance, the teacher had joined the prisoner transport vehicle making its way to the border. When he arrived there, she was waiting for him.

She had snow white hair flowing from her head like a lion's mane, dressed in a stately black uniform accented by a black trenchcoat. Her red eyes narrowed in on the man before her as her massive black and gray halo floated above her.

"Greetings Sensei, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." Head Prefect Sorasaki Hina greeted Sensei Ao Hinata.